olervsoyesTell them apart

Which to use

“oler” and “oyes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,675
“oler” frequency rank
#21,091
“oyes” frequency rank
36766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature oler oyes
Definition Percibir voluntaria o involuntariamente mediante los órganos olfativos. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de oír.

Where the eye mixes oler and oyes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
oler
4 ch
oyes

Look-alike desk: oler vs oyes

A purely visual mix-up. oler ([oˈleɾ]) and oyes ([ˈoʝes]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

oler is recorded at frequency rank #15,675, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈleɾ]. oyes is at rank #21,091, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈoʝes].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 36766, this pair ranks #178,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of oler vs oyes

Shared letters: eo. Private to "oler": lr. Private to "oyes": sy.

"oler" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "oyes" · 4 letters · shape VVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • olerloer · oelr · olerr · oller · olre
  • oyesoeys · oyess · oyse · oyyes · yoes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "oler" and "oyes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([oˈleɾ] versus [ˈoʝes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "oler" vs "oyes" - which ranks higher?
"oler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,675 in our Spanish list, against #21,091 for "oyes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "oler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "oyes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #178,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "oler" and "oyes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "óseas vs oyes". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #178,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list